Walmart must correct tax error

Published 3:07 pm, Tuesday, February 18, 2014

A spokeswoman for the giant retail firm insists Walmart is in full compliance with the Connecticut law that exempts from sales tax the purchase of firearms safety equipment, such as gun safes.

Yet when Hearst Connecticut Media recently conducted a telephone survey of the 33 Walmart stores in the state, employees at every one of the 16 stores carrying gun safes said sales tax is being charged on purchases of that item.

Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation in 1999 to exempt firearms safety devices from state sales tax in order to promote gun safety, and industry experts say sales of such equipment have been particularly brisk since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in December 2012.

Brooke Buchanan, speaking for Walmart, told Hearst for a story published Sunday, "We haven't charged sales tax (on gun safes) since that law was put into place."

Three area residents have thus far stepped forward to contradict Buchanan's claim, and as recently as Monday, two sporting goods clerks at the Connecticut Avenue Walmart in Norwalk told a Hearst reporter they have never been told that gun safety devices are tax-exempt.

One of the employees added, "We don't have the option to not charge taxes."

It is clear that either Buchanan is misinformed or that Walmart has a major communication problem between management and staff, or both.

In either case, Walmart has a mess on its hands and needs to clean it up.

For starters, Walmart must make sure its employees know the law and never again charge sales tax on guns safes and other gun safety equipment. Walmart said Sunday it planned to send out an internal advisory to that effect, which is a good first step.

Second, Walmart should apologize to the public and especially those customers who were incorrectly charged sales tax on any of those items. That would be a good start toward regaining public trust.

Third, Walmart needs to aggressively seek out any and all customers who paid the sales tax and give them the appropriate refund. It is not clear how many customers might have been affected, since Buchanan said sales records were not immediately accessible.

All Walmart customers who have purchased gun safes or other safety equipment from the company within the past three years -- the legal limit to claim a refund -- should check their receipts and see if they were illegally charged sales tax. If they were, they should go back to the store and collect their refund.

But state officials have a role to play, too.

The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has said it will issue a press release clarifying the issue and explaining the procedure by which customers can get their refunds. The agency has also said it will investigate Walmart's apparent error and will follow up to ensure that refunds are made.

We urge DRS to investigate Walmart and take whatever action is appropriate. We further urge the department to find out whether other retailers are following the law and exempting sales tax on the purchase of gun safety equipment.

We also call on Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and his staff to keep a close watch on the proceedings and to step in if circumstances dictate.

Connecticut residents need to be assured that all retail firms, regardless of size, follow the law and that customers' rights are being protected.